Here’s How Extreme Tax Debt In The Intelligence Community Has Left Our Nation Exposed To The Enemy

While reports of Obama administration officials owing back taxes is hardly newsworthy, a recent CNN report indicates that a specific group of individuals with significant tax debt could embolden America’s enemies.

The Department of Defense reportedly has within its ranks about 83,000 individuals who have both unpaid taxes and among the highest-level security clearance within the agency. The tax burden owed by this group is estimated to be a staggering $730 million.

A majority of these individuals received clearance prior to accumulating their debt.

This acknowledgment, CNN explains, goes far beyond money owed to the IRS. According to the report, those without such debt are often targeted by enemy nations looking for a way to exploit weaknesses in our intelligence structure.

The Government Accountability Office, which released the numbers, went on to conclude that extending clearance to those with significant debt can result in compromised national security.

CNN cites federal guidelines regarding security clearance, which finds that an individual “who is financially overextended” has a greater propensity toward engaging in “illegal acts to generate funds,” which is why the government considers debt as a factor in bestowing such access.

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IRS regulations, however, make it difficult for intelligence agencies to examine private tax information. With more than 5 million Americans either possessing or eligible for high-level security clearance, the federal government is hard pressed to determine the financial situation of each candidate.

Of course, a foreign agent could theoretically exploit just a tiny fraction of that number to potentially wreak havoc within the nation’s intelligence community. In response to the GAO report, the Office Director of National Intelligence issued a statement siding with its recommendation that tax records be open to those responsible for issuing security clearances.

As CNN pointed out, the federal government has faced criticism in recent years for granting access to Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning, both of whom used their clearance to expose secrets they were assigned to protect.